National: President Obama suggested this morning that he’s prepared to fight the Republican House when it comes to raising the national debt ceiling.  The debt ceiling does not actually raise the debt. It authorizes Congress to pay existing bills and obligations. Refusal to raise the debt could cause economic uncertainty. The President said,“The full faith and credit of the United states of America is not a bargaining chip”

  The President made his remarks in his last official press conference of his first term. On gun control the President said he has yet to look at Vice President Biden’s proposals, but he said, “If we can save one child from what happened in Newtown, we should take that step.”

Talk of gun control has caused a rush to buy that is emptying gun shops and putting manufacturers on back-order status.

World: Malian rebels have made advances since devastating French air strikes that were claimed to have stopped them in their tracks. An Islamist rebel leader said the French attacks had “opened the gates of hell” for all its citizens, causing concern that terrorists might hit back in France.

• In the continuing civil war in Syria, government aircraft struck targets in the suburbs of Damascus. The government reported killing “terrorists” but rebel sources said about 30 civilians were killed, half of them children.
• India has had another fatal gang rape in which a woman travelling with her 10-year-old son was raped and hanged from a tree. Six men have been arrested.  

The Globes: The picture about the Iran hostage crisis, “Argo”, won the Golden Globes for Best Picture and Drama, beating out “Lincoln” which has 12 Oscar nominations. Daniel Day Lewis won Best Actor for “Lincoln”, Jessica Chastain Best Actress for “Zero Dark Thirty”. The Globes are considered somewhat of a predictor for the Oscars. The highlight was the opening monologue by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler of Saturday Night Live fame, who introduced the event as a rare moment when “the beautiful people of film rub shoulders with the rat-faced people of TV.”

The Box:  “Zero Dark Thirty”, the story of finding and killing Osama Bin Laden, came in first at $24 million. “Gangster Squad”, a noir LA period piece, came in second at just under $17 million.

NFL: Four left. The Ravens pulled out a squeaker against Denver. Atlanta blew a 20-point lead, but survived Seattle. Next week, Baltimore v. New England and San Francisco v. Atlanta to decide who goes to the Superbowl.

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